Everything You Need to Know About the Frightening House in "We Have a Ghost"
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It’s no shock the "house of death" in Netflix’s new movie We Have a Ghost is a rundown Victorian (yes, there’s a reason the style is considered to be more haunted). But that’s the only classic element of the modern-day ghost story, which follows a family who finds fame by turning the ghost, played by Stranger Things’s David Harbour, that haunts their new home into a social media sensation. While the story is set in Chicago, the production was actually shot in and around New Orleans.
“The biggest challenge of this movie wasn't necessarily the action, it was the environment, having to really battle the elements,” writer-director Christopher Landon says in a press brief. “We shot the movie in the dead ass of summer in New Orleans, which anyone will tell you is crazy.”
The cast and crew powered through heavy heat (“David’s crazy hairpiece is sliding off his head,” Landon adds), lightning shutdowns, and a month-long halt in production in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Ahead, dive into everything else we know about the filming locations in the movie.
Where Was We Have a Ghost filmed?
Naturally, the Presley family’s new house is one of the movie’s standout stars. To get it just right, two New Orleans houses were chosen to portray the home: one for the exterior shots and one for the interiors. The exterior is exactly what you might picture when you think of a haunted house: It has skinny windows, a porch with gingerbread trim, textured walls, and overgrown landscaping.
As for the interiors, you can spot peeling wallpaper in the living room, scratched-up flooring, flickering lighting, and a fireplace with a black spotted mirror. Thanks to a team led by production designer Jennifer Spence, the kitchen was custom-built on location. The soaring attic where the ghost, Ernest, likes to hang out was filmed on a soundstage.
Other locations include the small city of Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Located about an hour away from New Orleans, the city was used to film the car chase sequence. A convention center in New Orleans was transformed into the CIA office. One of the movie's final scenes takes place on the lakeshore. In reality, it was filmed on a hot, dusty field in Louisiana. The mountain background was shot in Bozeman, Montana, and added to the setting through visual effects.
Whether you can't resist a haunted house tale, or simply want to see another fun production that features Jennifer Coolidge, We Have a Ghost offers the perfect balance between comedy and horror that'll eventually draw you back for a rewatch.
To hear more ghost stories, subscribe to our haunted house podcast, Dark House, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, or anywhere you listen.
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